Daniel Velasquez noticed the distinct lack of Native American-inspired food experiences in Iowa City, so the long-time chef, sensing a unique opportunity, opened South Side Street Foods. “It’s a concept I’ve been thinking about for years,” he said. In April, he started serving frybread, a staple dish for many Native American communities across the country. […]
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Daniel Velasquez noticed the distinct lack of Native American-inspired food experiences in Iowa City, so the long-time chef, sensing a unique opportunity, opened South Side Street Foods.
“It’s a concept I’ve been thinking about for years,” he said.
In April, he started serving frybread, a staple dish for many Native American communities across the country.
“For a lot of Native Americans, frybread was born out of necessity,” he said. “When tribes were put on the reservation, they were given commodities like flour, oil, canned goods and beans, among other foods not known to them. They made what they could to survive. Frybread was both a blessing and curse due to a lack of nutrition.”
Today, many tribes have their own style of frybread, as well as many different recipes that are handed down, he explained.
Frybread is a deep-fried flat dough bread, served with toppings. Each style is a little different, but he puts his own twist on it by pairing the bread with fresh meats, pico de gallo, fresh tomatoes, beans and cilantro. The end result bears resemblance to a taco salad.
Mr. Velasquez grew up in South Phoenix and described his background as being part Chicano and part Yaqui. The Yaqui tribes are indigenous to parts of Mexico and the southwestern United States.
Starting young, he began perfecting his culinary expertise from the age of 12 at a mom-and-pop Italian restaurant, but now his new food truck venture is letting him put years of experience to the test. He joins the ranks of other Iowa City business owners in his family, as his wife, Alicia, owns The House of Dotł’izhi, a custom artisan jewelry store.
“As my food journey kept growing and progressing, and I was able to start cooking and preparing foods for people, seeing their reaction to it just gave me this natural high and drive of seeing people enjoy my food,” he said. “I spent a lot of years perfecting my recipes. Now I’m just connecting my culture and passion and taking people on this journey with me.”
And where does the name of his food truck come from? That, too, is intentional.
“A lot of people associate the south side of towns with negativity,” he said. “You immediately think of gang activity. Even the south side of Iowa City has a reputation. But I want to show people there’s also positivity in the south side. A lot of good things can come out of it.”
His truck can be found, pending weather complications, at 1927 Keokuk St. or at the Diversity Market in the South District at Pepperwood Mall on Saturdays until August. At times, he has added the “El Chicano bacon cheeseburger” to a menu already consisting of frybread and desserts.
“My truck is about more than offering food,” Mr. Velasquez added. “I want to give people an experience as well. I want to open the door of conversations with people. This is just a small fraction of what native foods are. There are many chefs starting up across the country reintroducing people to indigenous cooking. I wanted to start that here in Iowa City.”
